Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) Shares Down 8.4% – What’s Next?

Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN)’s share price traded down 8.4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $30.39 and last traded at $30.39. 727,196 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 1,257,250 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WERN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Werner Enterprises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Werner Enterprises from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup restated a “sell” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Werner Enterprises in a research report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Werner Enterprises from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Werner Enterprises presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $33.14.

Werner Enterprises Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $33.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.63. The firm has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of -126.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $737.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $767.51 million. Werner Enterprises had a positive return on equity of 0.04% and a negative net margin of 0.48%.The business’s revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 13th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Werner Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -233.33%.

Insider Transactions at Werner Enterprises

In other Werner Enterprises news, COO Eric J. Downing sold 1,418 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $49,318.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,945,801.88. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Werner Enterprises

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WERN. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Werner Enterprises by 52.3% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 573,891 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $15,105,000 after purchasing an additional 197,155 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 174,842 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,602,000 after buying an additional 27,869 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in Werner Enterprises by 22.0% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 76,426 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,091,000 after buying an additional 13,782 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Werner Enterprises by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,280,995 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $62,408,000 after purchasing an additional 110,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Werner Enterprises by 49.1% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 704,775 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,283,000 after purchasing an additional 232,149 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.32% of the company’s stock.

Werner Enterprises Company Profile

Werner Enterprises, Inc, founded in 1956 by Clarence L. “Chris” Werner, is a leading transportation and logistics provider based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company began as a one?truck operation and has since grown into one of North America’s largest carriers, offering an array of services to support diverse supply chains.

Werner’s core business activities include full truckload dry van services, dedicated contract carriage, intermodal transport and brokerage solutions. The company also provides value-added services such as warehousing, freight management and fleet maintenance through its network of terminals and service centers.